A Comparison of Eastern and Western Medicine
①To many, Eastern medicine seems, at face value, quite a culture shock to those who are used to traditional Western medicine. However, there are still many similarities.
②First, the Chinese medical doctor evaluates the complete medical history and takes the pulses. The Chinese practitioner also arrives at a diagnosis and treatment program which the Western physician does. Both practitioners have several years of training at medical colleges. Both Eastern and Western practitioners must pass a strict exam for a license to practice their profession.
③However, there are also many differences in the treatment of patients between Eastern and Western medicine. First, the main difference is that Chinese medicine diagnosis and treats on the basis of the vital force energy within the body call “qi”, whereas Western medicine does so on the basis of physiology and biochemistry.
④Another difference is that Eastern medicine treats the whole body and not just one symptom at a time. In other words, 3 people may come in with a headache, but 3 different treatments may be given to the patients, depending on their other associated symptoms.
⑤This leads us to the third difference between Eastern and Western medicine: more feedback between the patient and the Chinese doctor. Sometimes the treatment program is changed 2-3 times per week. This is because, as the body gets stronger, the previous one must be adjusted to accommodate this change.
⑥Another big difference is that, while Western medicine treats mainly the symptoms of a disease, Chinese medicine treats the underlying toot causes of a disease while also treating the symptoms. one can possibly raise the argument that killing a bacterium or parasite is treating the cause of the problem; however, the Chinese doctor will delve more deeply into why the patient was susceptible to being infected.
⑦Finally, one last difference is that combining herbs increases the effectiveness. This is contrary to Western medicine, where side effects are increased, when more drugs and medications are combined. In Chinese medical theory, there is one emperor herb which carries the main function of the formula, and there are servant and assistant herbs which help the emperor herb to carry out the main function of the formula. This allows the patient to have more than one imbalance treated at the same time, so that the root cause of the problem is more directly addressed and treated.
⑧In summary, there are both differences and similarities between Eastern and Western medicine. IT is thus important to realize and understand the various advantages that each type has to offer so they can be used to complement one another.